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Dante Estrada | Long Beach Current <\/p>\n
This fall semester has seen some highs and lows for Long Beach State sports, and in the spirit of the upcoming holiday season, this week\u2019s edition of \u201cCatching the Wave\u201d presents the Naughty and Nice list of Long Beach sports.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Nice: Natalie Reagan\u2019s high-speed offense<\/p>\n
If you were to describe LBSU women\u2019s volleyball head coach Natalie Reagan\u2019s offensive philosophy in one word, it would be: fast.\u00a0<\/p>\n
Early on this season, junior outside hitter and Boise State transfer Anabel Kotzakov<\/a> remarked on the challenges of finding her footing in the unique offensive style The Beach deploys.\u00a0<\/p>\n \u201cThe offense Long Beach runs is so fast compared to any other team, so it definitely took me a little bit to get used to it,\u201d Kotzakov told The Current<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n In exchange for the longer learning curve, Reagan and her coaching staff have fielded an offense that ranks near the top of the Big West in every metric.\u00a0<\/p>\n LBSU ranks second in kills per set at 13.58, second in points with 17.29 and third in hitting percentage at .240.<\/p>\n After clinching a playoff berth<\/a> on Nov. 13, The Beach will put their high-flying offense to the test in their pursuit of a Big West title.\u00a0<\/p>\n Naughty: The people of Long Beach<\/p>\n With a new expansion minor league baseball team<\/a> coming to Long Beach in 2026, the team\u2019s ownership group provided fans with a fun opportunity to help decide the name for the club.\u00a0<\/p>\n However, the people of Long Beach did not meet the moment.\u00a0<\/p>\n The three finalists<\/a> of this naming competition are Long Beach Coast, Parrots and Regulators.\u00a0<\/p>\n While the Regulators is a very cool-sounding name, inspired by minority owner and rapper Warren G\u2019s hit song \u201cRegulate,\u201d it\u2019s unlikely to be chosen due to how easily ownership of a team can change.\u00a0<\/p>\n Excluding that idea, the Coast is unoriginal and far too similar to The Beach, the name of the majority of LBSU\u2019s programs, and the Parrots would immediately rise to the top of the list of least intimidating sports team names of all time.\u00a0<\/p>\n Nice: Gabi Acosta, men\u2019s water polo\u00a0<\/p>\n It\u2019s rare for a player to be arguably the best player in his conference through his freshman to senior season, but that may end up being the case for Gabi Acosta<\/a>.\u00a0<\/p>\n After being named Big West Player of the Year as a freshman with 63 goals, the 6-foot-4 center from Barcelona added 61 goals as a sophomore this season.\u00a0<\/p>\n Acosta is ranked 25th in career goals for the program after just two seasons, and if he can continue at his current pace, he will shatter the LBSU record of 231 goals held by Kyle Kopp.\u00a0<\/p>\n Naughty: Converting opportunities for women\u2019s soccer<\/p>\n